Arcadia Brewing Co. owner Tim Suprise said his company may sue Battle Creek Unlimited amid its lease dispute with the economic development organization.

"A lawsuit is on the table and is strongly being considered," Suprise told the Enquirer on Monday. "It's really rather regrettable because we, Arcadia, we're still in limbo without a lease agreement. Our understanding is a purchase agreement is in place but we don't have a lease agreement in front of us.

"Although we remain committed to Battle Creek, it's a little tenuous right now."

BCU owns the West Michigan Avenue building where Arcadia has operated since 1996, and is in the process of selling it to a third party. Meanwhile, attorneys for Arcadia and BCU have sparred this month over a years-long lease disagreement. Tensions spiked when Suprise went public with the dispute in March, claiming the Battle Creek brewery and restaurant has tried to reach a new lease with BCU for three years.

Suprise called it "a very difficult and challenging situation for us as a community anchor business," and blamed BCU for being a "rapidly disengaging organization that is responsible."

BCU President and CEO Marie Briganti fired back in a March 19 Facebook post. Briganti said Arcadia has paid no rent since October 2014 -- a fact Suprise doesn't dispute -- and criticized Arcadia for taking advantage of Battle Creek while it makes investments in other communities.

On April 4, Arcadia's attorneys, Grand Rapids-based Silver & Van Essen, demanded an "unambiguous retraction of the false statements" made against Arcadia. Among BCU's claims disputed by Suprise:

Arcadia is "requesting a new lease with a rent payment of $0 for the entire term of the lease."

The brewery "demands more and more financial resources from Battle Creek, but expands elsewhere."

"Battle Creek (is) getting taken advantage of by paying for Arcadia's investments in other communities."

Eleven days later, BCU's attorney Alfred L. Schubkegel Jr., of Kalamazoo's Varnum Attorneys at Law, said in a response that BCU "does not intend to retract statements which it does not believe to be false." Schubkegel wrote that because the challenged statements are factually correct, "your client would be ill-advised to file a lawsuit."

Suprise said he does not consider the matter closed and he's reached out to Arcadia's board of directors to discuss potential legal action against BCU. He said the brewery likely will make a decision by next week.

"We've suffered and public perception has been swayed against us inaccurately," he said.

BCU, under its limited liability company Whitsun Holdings, has owned 103 W. Michigan Ave. since 2004. Arcadia originally owned the property, but BCU stepped in to purchase it while Arcadia dealt with tax issues that threatened its liquor license.

Suprise claims he terminated the lease in October 2014 and under the agreement, BCU owes Arcadia more than $90,000 for repairs and improvements made by Arcadia. BCU maintains that a lease is still in place despite him not paying.

Suprise said he has provided BCU with annual reports "multiple times" detailing the money spent on the structure. BCU argues that he "has never provided adequate substantiation" within deadline and has "refused" to give documentation of the repair work.

Details of the potential buyer of the Arcadia building have not been publicly disclosed.